


Dying to Confess

by WolfMeister



Series: Stucky One-Shots [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Artist Steve Rogers, Asthma, Asthmatic Steve Rogers, Cigarettes, First Kiss, Love Confessions, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Pneumonia, Pre-Canon, Pre-Captain America: The First Avenger, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers deserves all the love, True Love's Kiss, VapoRub, asthma cigarettes, kind of, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2018-08-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 16:07:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15634098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfMeister/pseuds/WolfMeister
Summary: Steve's sick, again, but this time no one is sure if he'll make it.





	Dying to Confess

**Author's Note:**

> So I figured Steve's 16 and Bucky's 17 almost 18. 
> 
> sorry about the title but i really had to
> 
> also this idea was floating around my mind for a while, finally decided it was time to write it down
> 
> also idk how you would use an asthma cigarette really, but whatever.

It started out as a simple cough, as most of Steve’s illnesses did. It was winter, a particularly cold one at that, so Sarah wasn’t surprised when her only son began to cough, and she began to make sure he went out - if he needed to go out - with many layers. Every night, and every morning, Sarah or Steve would gently apply VapoRub to her son’s chest. She would cook more soups, nice and hot, to warm up his body, and hers as well. But still, Steve’s cough began to worsen. Sarah woke up one morning, about a week after Steve’s cough began, to hear her son awake in his bed, coughing and wheezing, and she knew an asthma attack was imminent, if not already started. She got out of bed, dragging her blanket with her, and sat on the edge of Steve’s mattress, draping her arm and her blanket around his shoulders. Steve already had one of his asthma cigarettes in his hand. The smoke slowly drifting upward from the lit end of the cigarette. In between every coughing fit, Steve would manage to take a long drag from his cigarette. But the coughing would persist.

Sarah presses the back of her hand against Steve’s forehead. She frowns with worry. Sarah pulls her hand away when she hears a knock on the apartment door. Steve glances over to look at his ma, his breathing coming in rapid, rattling wheezes. She smiles at him.

“Lay down and try to get some rest, Steve,” she says. He nods, and she gets up to answer the door. She opens the door to find Bucky standing on the other side. Steve starts coughing again.

“Hey, Mrs. Rogers,” Bucky greets, eyes flickering in the direction of the bedroom. “How’s Steve?”

“He’s got a fever,” Sarah says. She doesn’t even bother hiding her worry from Bucky. “And when I woke up, he was coughing really bad.” She steps aside to allow Bucky into her home - their home, really - and he makes his way to the kitchen, filling a couple of glasses with water. Sarah goes back to the bedroom, bringing a couple of chairs to Steve’s bedside. They have a routine. Steve props himself up on an elbow when his ma walks in, pushing two chairs.

“Bucky’s here?” Steve asks, voice hoarse.

“You bet I am,” Bucky replies easily, setting three glasses of water down on Steve’s bedside table. “How’re you feeling, Stevie?” Steve reaches for his glass of water before breaking down in another coughing fit. Sarah grabs and lights another asthma cigarette, handing it to Steve once his coughing dies down.

“I’m okay,” Steve mutters, after a cigarette drag and a gulp of water.

“Bullshit,” Bucky responds.

“Bucky,” Sarah says sternly. Bucky lowers his head. “You have a fever, Steve.” He groans.

Sarah has to leave a few hours later, but she knows Bucky will take good care of him. She and Bucky only begin to worry immensely when Steve doesn’t get better within the next couple of weeks. His fever gets worse and he can barely manage to sit up. He can barely manage to roll over to vomit in the bucket by his bed. Steve starts eating very little, and he sleeps for most of the day. When he’s awake, he spends most of the time wracked with sporadic coughing fits and asthma attacks.

“He’s not getting better,” Bucky mumbles to Sarah when Steve’s fast asleep. Bucky sees his best friend shiver from his peripheral vision. Sarah hums, rubbing VapoRub into Steve’s chest.

“I think he has pneumonia,” Sarah says, brow furrowed. “Again.” Bucky takes one of Steve’s hands into his own. He remembers the last time Steve got pneumonia when he was 10. They thought he wasn’t going to push through, but his fever broke an hour before Sarah was going to get the priest for his last rites. Sarah and Bucky had felt so relieved. It wasn’t as bad as when Steve contracted the rheumatic fever, and he really did receive his last rites. Bucky really hopes that doesn’t happen this time.

“He’ll make it,” Bucky states, more for reassurance. “He has so far.” Sarah looks up and smiles at him.

“I’m sure he will.”

Bucky and Sarah continue to do as much as they can for Steve, to help his poor immune system, and try to make the pneumonia leave as quickly as possible, but nothing seems to work, and Steve continues to get worse. Bucky stays by Steve’s side nearly all day, holding his hand and feeling the clamminess of his skin. Bucky feels each shake and shiver, and he feels the feverish heat radiating off Steve’s body. And after another week of Steve only getting worse, Sarah brings the priest. She didn’t tell Bucky, knowing that he’d fight against it as much as possible. And she knew, he would probably succeed in changing her mind. But as a nurse, she knows the signs, and she knows how unlikely it is for Steve, her beautiful son, to recover when the pneumonia is as bad as his is.

Bucky remains quiet through the entirety of the last rites, hand gripping Steve’s tight, Sarah holding Steve’s other hand. Steve wakes up in the middle of his rites being said, looking over at his ma, then looking over at Bucky. The priest finishes then beckons Sarah to follow him out into the hall to have a conversation, one that Bucky doesn’t want any part in.

“Bucky,” Steve rasps, eyes barely holding focus on his best friend’s face.

“Yeah, Stevie?” Bucky whispers, unsure if Steve even hears him. But he can’t speak any louder for fear of tears falling from his eyes, the ones that have been threatening to since Sarah came back with the priest.

“Am I dying, Buck?” Steve asks. Bucky looks down at their hands, not wanting to answer. “Bucky?” Bucky shakes his head, a few stray tears falling onto the bed sheets. “I love you.” Bucky’s eyes widen in surprise, and his head snaps up to look at Steve. Steve’s eyes flutter closed and he lets out a sigh. Bucky is struck by the fear that it was his last breath, that those were his last words.

“Stevie?” Bucky whispers in a panic, standing up and hovering over his head and letting the tears flow freely. He places his hands on both sides of Steve’s face. “No, no, don’t leave me, Stevie, please.” Bucky presses his lips against Steve's, too short, too panicked. “I love you too, Steve. Please, please don’t go. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Steve groans and Bucky sobs with relief, collapsing on his knees. “Promise me you won’t leave me,” Bucky says. Steve opens his eyes again and a hint of a smile plays at his lips.

“I promise, Buck.”

No one is sure how it happens, but Steve’s fever breaks a couple of days later, and he quickly begins to get better. Sarah hugs her boy tight when he’s finally able to get out of bed again. Bucky wonders if Steve remembers anything that either of them said while he was on the brink of death. Sarah tells Bucky to go back to school, so he does, despite wanting to stay with Steve.

After another couple of weeks, Steve is almost completely better, and Bucky arrives at the Rogers’ household to find him drawing on the couch. Bucky looks around, but doesn’t find Sarah, and assumes she’s off at work. He sits next to Steve but doesn’t say anything, just lets him draw. When Steve leans back and finally looks up at Bucky, Bucky knows he’s finished drawing, and he knows he’s about to say something.

“You’ve been acting weird,” Steve states, “since I’ve got better.”

“What?”

“Why?”

Bucky opens his mouth, then closes it, unsure of what he’s going to say. He looks into Steve’s eyes. He watches him blink, his long eyelashes kissing his cheeks. Steve continues to stare at him expectantly.

“Do you remember what you told me when the priest was here?” Bucky asks slowly, eyes lowering to Steve’s hand. Steve furrows his brow. “Before I made you promise not to leave me?” Bucky nearly chokes on those last couple of words.

“What did I say?” Steve mutters. Bucky thinks he knows, but just wants to hear what Bucky heard.

“You said, uh, you said you l-love me,” Bucky says, stumbling on the words as he looks back up at Steve’s face. A light blush spreads over Steve’s cheeks as he looks to the side. “Steve, I-”

“I don’t care if you think it ain’t right,” Steve says. “It sure feels right.” Steve gets up from the couch, setting his drawing materials aside, and walks to the kitchen. Bucky takes a moment to comprehend before getting up and following him. He really must not have remembered.

“Stevie…”

“Don’t!”

Bucky grabs Steve’s hand. He tries to yank his hand away, but he’s still weak from pneumonia and Bucky’s grip is too strong. “Stop it, ya punk!” Bucky exclaims. “I love you too!” Steve stills, looking up at his only friend. Bucky smiles. “I told you that. After I kissed you.”

“You kissed me?” Steve whispers. Bucky nods. “I don’t, I don’t remember that.”

“Then I’ll kiss you again.” Bucky brings his other hand up to cup Steve’s face, leaning down and pressing his lips to Steve’s. Steve smiles into the kiss before pulling away. “It sure feels right to me too, pal.” Steve playfully whacks Bucky’s arm before pulling him down into another kiss.

After a few more kisses, the two make their way back to the couch, wrapping themselves up in each other. Bucky kisses the top of Steve’s head before a thought comes into his mind.

“You know,” Bucky starts, “I think my kiss saved your life.”

“What?”

“True love’s kiss and all.” Steve looks up to see the biggest smirk on Bucky’s face.

“Shut up, jerk.”


End file.
